A 55-year-old Bayard man was ordered to pay restitution, serve limited time behind bars and spend a number of years probation for falsifying records to cover up embezzlement of postal union funds.
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced Wednesday that Senior U. S. District Judge John Gerrard sentenced Donald Fox to four years of probation, and to serve five weekends in jail. Fox was also ordered to pay $14,874.05 in restitution to the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 1836, and prior to sentencing, had already paid the union $9,746.07.
Fox served as the secretary and treasurer for the union out of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, from 2001 until he resigned in June 2021. Federal law requires that a labor union secretary annually file an accounting statement with the Department of Labor documenting annual losses, assets, liabilities, receipts, and disbursements. Between 2016 and 2020, Fox used union funds for personal expenses totaling $24,620.12.
The embezzlement came to light in 2021 when other union members noticed union funds being used for expenses that were not approved by the union, and that were not union-related purchases. Fox admitted that he used union funds for personal expenses, and admitted that he hid his embezzlement in part by filing false annual accounting statements that did not account for his unauthorized use of union funds. He admitted to not filing the annual accounting statement in 2020 to continue concealing his misappropriation of union funds.
“There are consequences for individuals who breach the trust placed in them to be good stewards of union funds. Don Fox embezzled $24,620 from National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 1836 that should have been used for its members’ benefit,” said Christiane Abendroth, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. “OLMS is committed to hold accountable anyone who unlawfully exploits their position for financial gain at the expense of their fellow union members.”
This case was investigated by U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards.
